CHIEF Minister Katy Gallagher says she is encouraged by the latest data on elective surgery waiting times.

“The ACT Government has been focusing resources on elective surgery wait times in the public health system and has developed partnerships with several local private hospitals to have more surgeries performed and I am pleased to see this strategy is reaping results,” Katy said.

“These partnerships have assisted ACT Health in reducing the amount of overdue patients waiting for their elective surgery. When comparing the 726 long wait patients waiting at the end of 2013-14 with the 2,220 patients waiting back in 2009-10 there has been a 67% reduction in long wait patients,” the Chief Minister said.

“The median waiting time for access to elective surgery continues to improve in the ACT, with a result of 48 days recorded for 2013-14, down from 76 days four years ago.

“This figure has remained consistent during the first two months of 2014-15. For the first time for many years the ACT does not have the longest median waiting time in the country.

“There is still work to be done in this area, however, these improvement are encouraging. The Government will continue to work closely with the private hospital networks and medical professionals to ensure waiting times continue to drop.”

Liberal leader Jeremy Hanson, however is less impressed.

“Waiting times for elective surgery remain worse now than when ACT Labor came to office in 2001,” Jeremy said.

“Under Labor’s neglect median wait times blew out to 76 days and it still isn’t back to where it was. Furthermore, waiting times are still much worse than the national average.

“We’re still the worst in country for example in tonsillectomies with an average wait time of 342 days, compared with 99 days nationally.

“ACT Labor seems obsessed with building a light rail project that many Canberrans clearly don’t want, but the government can’t fix the health system. It’s priorities are all wrong.”